5 “Outside The Box” Ways To Save Money

I know how stressful life is when you are living paycheck to paycheck. I really do. That is the way I live my life now. This past year though, I have decided that I am not going to live that way anymore. I am taking the steps needed to get out of that cycle. Along the way, I am sharing my learning with others so that they too can learn how to stop living paycheck to paycheck. Today I want to touch on some “Outside the Box” ways to save money.

Saving money needs to be our first priority. For those of you who have been homeless, you know how it feels to always wonder when it’s going to happen again. One financial crisis that most people handle easily is a vehicle repair. This type of emergency can send us in a downward spiral of playing catch up with our regular bills and expenses. That is why it is so important that savings is set aside in one way or another to help ease such burdens.

The biggest obstacle I have found when trying to save money is to make sure that the money is not easily accessible to me. I have a terrible habit of sticking my hand in the cookie jar anytime I run low on cash. Using some “Outside the Box” ways of saving, the temptation is all but erased. The more difficult it is to get to the savings, the more the chance of actually saving money. Here are some unusual ways to save money:

1. Buy rolled coins from your local bank – You can go to the bank and buy rolls of Dollar Coins or Quarters. You can buy any denomination of coin that you want. Get yourself a piggy bank of some sort that only has an opening large enough to put the coins in. Make sure the opening is small enough that you can’t get your entire hand in there. Doing this will help you resist the temptation to simply reach your hand in. Check your local thrift store-I bet they have something that would work well. Then, every payday buy a roll of your choice of coins. Empty that roll into the container. Don’t keep it rolled-dump the coins so that you can hear the clinking in the container. This sound lets you hear your success as the sound grows deeper the fuller the container becomes. Over time, this money will add up and you will have a little bit of savings when you need it.

2. Envelope saving – If you are disciplined enough, you can save money in envelopes. Place $5 to $10 in an envelope every time you get paid. Then, put it in your secret hiding place. Your secret hiding place should be somewhere an intruder would not automatically look for money. It should also be fairly difficult to get to. If you make getting to your money difficult to get to, you save more.

3. Get a NetSpend® card-Using a prepaid debit card for saving is a great way to save money. You can have part of your paycheck directly deposited to the card so that you don’t see the money at pay day. You can have different styles of cards that you choose yourself. This way if you want to set a goal of saving for several different things, you will have a card that is dedicated to each goal or object.

This prepaid debit card can be loaded with cash from over 130,000 reload locations. Learn more about the NetSpend® card by checking out my post: I Love My NetSpend® Prepaid Debit Card. There are some fees associated with the use of this card. So, before you go rushing out and doing something without putting any thought in to it, take the time to research the fees.

You can get a NetSpend® card free of charge-there is no minimum amount required to deposit. However, if you load $40 you will receive a $20 bonus if you follow my link:

4. Buy Gift Cards – You can purchase gift cards in virtually any amount to all of your favorite stores. Most gift cards are also re loadable if you purchase them inside the store at the Customer Service Counter. For example, if you do most of your Grocery Shopping at Safeway®, purchase a gift card and load money on it every pay day. Keep it in a safe place and you will soon have enough money on it to do your monthly grocery shopping on. Or, maybe you like to eat out once a month. Purchase gift cards to your favorite restaurant throughout the month so that it is not such a large expense all at one time.

5. Rent a Safe Deposit Box– You can save cash in a safe deposit box which you can only access during business hours. This will keep you from being tempted to take from your savings. Safe deposit boxes usually run in the price range of $15-$25 per year. So, this initial investment is rather low considering the time frame that you are allowed. Having your money kept in a safe location that is not easily accessible to you is another way that you can help yourself save money.